I Climbed Out of That Canyon at Eight at Night
Breathless at the top of a canyon at eight at night, explaining to a fireman named Kurt what had happened and where my father was.
Category: Survival
Articles on survival topics, preparedness, and resilience, including practical knowledge applicable to both real-world situations and the fiction writing that draws from survival scenarios.
FictionEurydice: The Confession of Tom Ayrton
Verne gave Tom Ayrton thirty pages and no interior. This is his confession, taken in sessions after twelve years alone on Tabor Island, including what he did for his wife.
AdviceThe Fire Jumped the Road Behind Me. I Had Nothing in the Car.
Fire on both sides of the road, and when I looked back it had jumped behind me. Years of camping experience and nothing in the car that helped.
FictionCloudborn
A shear event kills the flock in forty seconds. Silt is alone in open atmosphere for the first time. Hard science fiction survival told from a genuinely alien point of view.
FictionFamily on Ice
The Toba eruption cut sunlight across Eurasia seventy-four thousand years ago. A family group tries to stay alive through it, in prose with no quotation marks and no comfort.
FictionThe Mysterious Island
Verne's castaway novel retold as the private record of Gideon Spilett, with Neb given his own story and a New Mexican widow the original did not have.
AdviceFacing Hurricane Irma: 7 Lessons in Storm Survival
September 2017: the forecast confirmed Irma was coming straight for my corner of Florida, and we had days to get ready. I had ridden out storms before, but this one's numbers were ugly. Here are seven hard-earned lessons from preparing…
AdviceThe Ultimate Bug Out Bag Guide: What Goes In, and Why
At 4:31 AM on January 17, 1994, the Northridge earthquake threw Richard Lowe out of bed into a damaged city with a missing son. Four decades of disasters late
AdviceReal World Survival: Preparing Without Becoming a Prepper
Practical disaster preparedness from someone who lived through Northridge, Hurricane Milton, wildfires, and COVID. No bunkers. No paranoia. What works.
Disaster RecoveryHurricane Milton Was Truly Frightening: The Aftermath
Milton dropped a record 14.5 inches of rain and spawned two dozen tornadoes. Here is the firsthand aftermath and what it confirmed about readiness.
Disaster RecoveryPreparing for a Category 5: My Hurricane Milton Experience and Advice
Milton reached Category 5 with 155 mph winds. Drawing on decades of disasters, here is my complete preparation routine and why pets belong at the center.
Disaster RecoveryBracing for Hurricane Milton While Cleaning Up After Helene
With Milton strengthening in the Gulf days after Helene, I ran my whole preparedness checklist again. Here is exactly what I did to get ready.